Portico

About 2000 people attended the //BUILD/ developer conference this past fall in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft attracted attendees from all over the globe in an event that sold out in less than an hour when tickets went on sale in August. You were given a Surface RT, Lumia 920, and 100GB of SkyDrive as part of your $1600+ registration fee. Unfortunately for folks with those Lumia 920’s, you haven’t had early or timely access for the Portico update. At least until today.

Good news for those on Verizon sporting the Nokia Lumia 822 and who were wondering when your OS update was coming. We are told that update is now live for your device, boosting the OS to version 10211 in addition to adding new firmware to the mix. The rollout began at 10am PT/1PM ET.

Build 10211 of Windows Phone 8 aka ‘Portico’ adds all sorts of smaller but essential new features to the OS, including persistent Wi-Fi, SMS call reject, multiple inbox deletions for text messages, stability improvements and more...

With yesterday’s alleged leak of HTC’s next Windows Phone, one of its eyebrow raising aspects was the use of “GDR2” when identifying the OS. The term was new nomenclature for those who follow Microsoft’s update cycles and product code names. Now, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley has learnt of its meaning and Paul Thurrott helps put it into focus.

The term GDR2 stands for “General Distribution Release” with the two denoting its sequence. The first GDR was “Portico” (build 10211), which was delivered starting at the end of December by Nokia (AT&T Lumia 920) and continuing within the last few weeks for the Lumia 810, 820 and HTC 8X devices on various carriers.

The big picture of these new updates is something we spoke about on the last podcast: there will be more frequent but smaller OS updates on Windows Phone 8 over the next 8-12 months before “Blue” is released.

Looks like another wave of Windows Phone Portico (build 10211) OS updates have begun rolling out as we’re getting flooded with tips from various regions.

So far we’ve heard the Lumia 920 in Russia (via WP7Forum.ru) and New Zealand are both getting the over the air OS update as we speak. In addition, Verizon users who have the HTC 8X can finally rejoice as that phone is also getting the feature packed OS update, according to reports.

According to a number of sources, the Windows Phone 8 update -- codename "Portico" OS build 8858 -- is rolling out across a number of European markets for those using unbranded hardware. WPArea.de reports that they have received the notification to upgrade their unlocked Windows Phone in Germany, while a handful of our readers from both Denmark and Sweden have got in touch.

Just as we covered UK mobile operator EE rolling out the Windows Phone 8 update, reports have flooded in from multiple markets, including Italy, Germany and Russia. We're witnessing Microsoft gradually open the flood gates to release the Portico update to more consumers, which is a sign that progress is strong and issues are few and far between.

We've just got word that UK mobile operator EE has begun rolling out the Portico update for Lumia 920 Windows Phones that are tied to the network. The Windows Phone 8 update introduces a number of improvements, including SMS call reject, persistent Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi hotspot and addresses stability issues (such as those annoying soft-resets).

Some sites today are erroneously spreading word that Nokia has begun a “global rollout” of the Portico Windows Phone OS update for the Lumia 920 and 820. Presumably this includes unlocked phones and even ones on various carriers.

Unfortunately, these sites didn’t verify the information or took liberties with the source.

Nokia isn’t the only one getting Portico today (OS build 10211) as it looks like AT&T and crew have thrown the switch for their HTC 8X, which was noticeably absent when the Lumia 920 got one a few weeks ago. Rumor has it some minor bugs were found and needed to be stomped out before rolling out.

Good news for those of you on T-Mobile US with their exclusive Lumia 810 Windows Phone 8 device, starting today at 10AM PST/1PM EST, users can begin to get OS and firmware updates for their phones. This follows a few weeks after T-Mobile rolled out a similar update for their HTC 8X lineup.

The update will bump the OS to version 10211 aka 'Portico' and the firmware to 1249.

We've just got word from a Windows Phone Central reader that the Portico update is pre-installed in a Lumia 920 which was received from Dutch retailer KPN. According to the tip the build presently listed on the device (8.0.10211.204) matches what we've previously reported on when talking about the latest Windows Phone 8 update.

Although folks on Rogers and AT&T have successfully received the Windows Phone “Portico” and firmware updates for their Nokia Lumia 920s, there’s a good chunk of the rest of the world who has not. In fact, the plan is not roll out that update for another month or so, which is a bummer for those looking to improve their camera or get new features.

What follows down below is a very detailed and well written guide on how to manually update your Lumia 920. The information is actually well known and many of us have used the same “system” for updating our previous Lumias, but this one is clearly written and regularly updated. Started in our forums by Nabkawe5, it’s one of our hottest threads.

No surprises here as 1PM ET rolls by reports of more Windows Phone “Portico” updates have begun to come in. This time, it’s for the lucky owners of the HTC 8X on Rogers who are reportedly now getting the combo OS and firmware update.

Although the majority of people who are on AT&T or Rogers who have upgraded their Lumia 920 to Windows Phone “Portico” are having no problems (in fact, quite the opposite), there is one bug that seems to affect a few people: auto-screen brightness.

As detailed in our Lumia 920 forums, the problem exhibits itself when you turn on the phone in a mildly lit room and the brightness seems to ramp up to max and then back down again, resulting in a staggered and constantly fluctuating display brightness.

T-Mobile and HTC have had quite a back and forth recently regarding the Windows Phone 8 “Portico” update (build 10211) We first heard about the 8X update just a few days ago and the original intent was to roll it out yesterday, December 19th. But at the last minute, we received word that T-Mobile was halting the rollout due to some last minute "tweaks".

The fear of course was that this could stretch into weeks as Microsoft, T-Mobile and HTC work to fix whatever it was holding up the update. Luckily, the delay now looks to be have been only 24 hours as T-Mobile and Microsoft have just now thrown the switch, delivering the update to customers.

Nokia has begun to push out the first over-the-air (OTA) update for Windows Phone for their Lumia 920 and 820 devices

This morning at 10AM PT (1PM ET), Nokia and Microsoft along with their carrier partners Rogers and AT&T have officially begun to roll out the OS and firmware updates for the Nokia Lumia 920 (and Lumia 820 on AT&T).

Last night, we reported that this much anticipated update was to arrive this morning and unlike T-Mobile, we have absolute confirmation that Nokia and their partners are on track for this update. Read on for all the exclusive details...

Just yesterday it was brought to our attention that T-Mobile had posted details about the upcoming ‘Portico’ OS update for the HTC 8X Windows Phone. The combined over-the-air update was to bring new firmware in addition to the OS update to fix stability issues.

That update was announced to go live today but a few hours ago, T-Mobile and Microsoft pulled the plug on the update, resulting in a temporary delay.